Utility vehicle cabs are traditionally mounted to a chassis at a plurality of mounting points. For example, this may include a mounting point at each of the four corners of the cab. During assembly, the cab is lowered onto the chassis at which point in time the respective mounting points must be aligned and held in place whilst the necessary means to fixing means are applied, such as a plurality of bolts.
It is an object of the invention to provide a method and apparatus for mounting a cab to a chassis on a utility vehicle which allows simple and relatively quick assembly of the cab and chassis.
Thus, in accordance with a first aspect of the invention there is provided mounting apparatus for mounting a cab to a chassis on a utility vehicle at one of a plurality of mounting points, the mounting apparatus comprising a first member being associated with the cab and a second member being associated with the chassis, the members each having a mutually cooperating major surface, the majority of the area of the major surface being suitable for supporting a portion of the weight of the cab, and engagement means disposed thereon which can be engaged to restrict relative movement in a plane substantially parallel to said major surfaces.
In accordance with a second aspect of the invention there is provided a method of mounting a cab to a chassis on a utility vehicle comprising the steps of fixing a first member to the cab at one of a plurality of mounting points, fixing a second member to the chassis at said one mounting point, wherein the first member and the second member each have a mutually cooperating major surface and engagement means disposed thereon, lowering the cab onto the chassis whilst aligning the first and second members, and engaging the first and second members to restrict relative movement in a plane substantially parallel to said major surfaces.
By providing each of the chassis and the cab with respective cooperating members, the assembly of the vehicle is simplified by allowing the members to self-align which holds the cab in place whilst it is secured with more permanent fixing means. Advantageously, the members can be attached to the chassis and the cab at an early stage in the assembly, thereby allowing a saving in time and thus assembly costs.
By supporting the portion of the cab weight across the cooperating major surfaces of each pair of members, the weight is spread across the area thereof thus not imparting high stresses upon any one region. This improves the stability of the mounting point.
In a preferred embodiment, the engagement means comprises projections disposed on the respective major surfaces. These projections can be simply formed by cast moulding for example, when manufacturing the members. The projections, or teeth, of one member can simply engage with receiving recesses, or depressions, in the other, cooperating, member thereby restricting relative transverse movement.
At least one projection of each member is preferably provided with a bore which mutually align when the members are engaged, the apparatus further comprising a pin which is inserted through the aligned bores so as to lock the members in position with respect to one another. This delivers a simple and quick mechanism to secure the cab to the chassis thereby preventing separation thereof.
In another preferred embodiment, the members are in the form of rigid discs. Such discs, with integrated engagement means, are particularly simple and cheap to manufacture in bulk by cast moulding.
The engagement means of one of said discs may comprise a central projection serving to prevent lateral relative movement between the respective discs, and at least one further projection disposed beyond the periphery of the central projection serving, in cooperation with a corresponding receiving depression in the other rigid disc, to prevent rotational movement therebetween around a central vertical axis.